IORA Women's Economic Empowerment: |26 August 2015

‘The critical importance of gender equality’  

Gender equality in the Indian Ocean Rim was the focus of a meeting held at the beginning of this week at the Savoy and Spa Resort at Beau Vallon.

The event, which was officially launched on Monday by the chief of economic empowerment, by UN-Women, Meg Jones, was jointly hosted by the Australian and Seychelles governments in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

The launch ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joël Morgan, the Minister for Health Mitcy Larue and the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Wallace Cosgrow, several distinguished guests and members of the IORA from Australia, Bangladesh, the Union of the Comoros, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, the Sultanate of Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates although as the dialogue partners, France, United Kingdom and United States of America.

Since 1997, IORA worked with a main focus on regional cooperation. It represents one of the world´s most dynamic regional communities. IORA Economic Declaration formalised that “the prosperity of the region will only be realised fully by investing in the empowerment of women”.

Headed by the secretary general, Ambassador K V Bhagirath, the secretariat of IORA is based in Ebene, Mauritius.

In her opening remarks Ms Jones warmly thanked the government of Seychelles to organise site visits to meet three of the top entrepreneurs here. “It was a real pleasure to have an inside view to upfront immediately into the economy of Seychelles. It´s a thriving women´s business community you have here. Without the 18 % of business registration are actually by women”.

Then, she introduced a video from “a strong supporter of women´s economic empowerment”, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs. “Women´s economic empowerment in gender equality is more imperative.  It´s not only the smart thing to do, but the right thing to do,” was her main message. Ms Bishop, who expressed her disappointment at not being able to come to the meeting, was being represented by the Australian ambassador for women and girls, Natasha Stott Despoja, who said she was delighted to be here.
 
“We need more ambassadors for women and children, for women and girls,” Ms Despoja said.

Dr Erna Athanasius, Seychelles’ ambassador for women and children, has quite rightly pointed out the progress made. “Seychelles has received ‘Gender Parity Achievements’ award at the 25th African Union Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Proud of this achievement, we are very pleased to share our experiences to other member countries about best practices in women´s economic empowerment.

 Government should continue to be innovative. This dialogue event for women´s economic participation is fundamental for human and women rights,” she said.

Graham Anderson, on behalf of Ambassador K V Bagirath, insisted on this point that every project in IORA must have a women or gender equality empowerment component.
 
He agreed with Ms Bishop that raising women participation in economic life is not the only smart thing to do, but the right thing to do.

“Seychelles has made important progress to empower women in business. In leadership, only Seychelles approximates anywhere near equal representation, with women in 41% of all management positions,” said Ama Marston, author of report to present findings.
 
Professor Attri, chair of Indian Ocean Studies of IORA gave follow-up remarks. “I am an optimist. When you want to progress, it’s hard work. Empowerment is equal in Seychelles. Blue Economy is the greatest challenge in the IORA. If we achieve gender equality, we achieve human rights. It´s imperative that men and women must be paid equal. Nothing is impossible, the collection of quality data is an evidence-based decision-making in support of women´s economic empowerment. We don´t have to segregate data,” he said.
 
The IORA Women's Economic Empowerment event showcased good practices and scalable solutions related to women's employment and entrepreneurship. Over the two days, delegates were asked to identify actions required by both the public and private sectors to foster women's economic empowerment.

The event included the launch of a publication, Mahé Consensus Document, which provides a situational analysis of women's economic status in IORA countries, including their access to employment and business opportunities.